Kirtland road trip

Summer brought a chance to visit Kirtland, Ohio and interesting architecture along the way. Never heard of it? It's an important site in LDS church history, though I didn't realize how significant until we visited.

"Along the way" was Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece, Falling Water. Wright built this house over the waterfall, and while I prefer more traditional styles, I was so impressed by the thought that went into every element of the house. Design was important, but it also had to be functional.

Just as stunning in person

Checking out the overlook with Kara

Kirtland was one of the earliest gathering places of the Mormons, a place where numerous revelations were received and our first temple was built. Today, the temple is owned by another church that split from the LDS church early on, but they were gracious enough to allow us to hold church there. It was important in their early history but appears to be less so now; it's my hope that the LDS church can eventually acquire it to fully restore it. What I didn't realize before we visited was how many times we believe that Christ appeared in the Kirtland area. How did I not know that?

Sunday morning at the Kirtland temple

Our visit was brief but great, and while we never made it to Cleveland we drove to the next town so I could see Lake Erie, and enjoy a restaurant we'd heard about that made incredible grilled sandwiches.

Perfecting my swinging skills overlooking Lake Erie

Lunch at Melt

We broke up the drive back with an overnight near Pittsburgh, allowing us to see the Cathedral of Learning. I'd never heard of it before, but imagine an imposing gothic skyscaper with a great hall like Hogwarts, and with every classroom fitted out in tribute to a different country to celebrate their great scholars. You could go around the world without leaving the building, which is exactly what we did for a bit.

Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh

Cathedral of Learning main hall

Chinese classroom

Germany's classroom had windows portraying their fairytales

A lot to cram into a weekend, but a great start to summer.

Wedding hoedown

My last day in Utah included more DC reunions, beginning with one at BYU. Even more than my visit on Friday, going there today reminded me how unique that school and the surrounding area are with all the bridal and engagement ring shops, religious bookstores, etc. I'm glad I attended BYU, but it's certainly not for everyone and especially at certain ages and marital statuses.

Speaking of which, the day concluded with the wedding reception of another DC friend at the state fairgrounds. I was too busy dancing and eating delicious food to take any pictures, apparently, but the bride looked radiant and it was good to see more friends.

All in all, a great trip that has me excited to return sometime soon.

Friend, Family, and Scouting

Today started with a visit to my old roommate, Aubree's new business. I'm sad she moved, but so excited by the possibilities in her life and hope she's able to help many people through it.

Next up was a visit to Great-Aunt Erma. She's a bit like a grandmother and a role model to me. Erma raised a large family in a relatively small house without a dishwasher, and remains one of the happiest people I know. Her Jell-O salads are also famous. We had a lunch date at a nearby Chinese restaurant, and I got to hear about how she and Uncle Dick met (apparently he thought she was "too churchy" at first).

with Great-Aunt Erma

After lunch I made a quick trip to downtown Salt Lake to visit the Church's History Museum and their Scouting exhibit. It included some of Norman Rockwell's paintings of Scouting, and a comparison of the Scout Law over the years

I think we should bring back some of the old ideals like "Be manly" or "smiles and whistles under all circumstances."

That night we held "FHE" by having a gathering of most of my cousins that live nearby. It was fun hearing what they've been up to, and made me miss living closer.

Oh, Vienna

Today was fairly quiet and a good chance to finally visit with my cousin and her family, and it ended with a Vienna reunion that went into the wee small hours. Our study abroad in Austria was in 2000, and spending an evening catching up with these women reminded me how much they enhanced my experience. Naturally we reminisced about our capers pre-Euro and cell phone, but the breadth of other topics (including GIS) makes me think we would've been friends regardless.

I was too busy mulling all this over while driving home to notice the speed limit. Thankfully the American Fork police force are a merciful bunch, especially to out-of-towners. After that, I made better use of cruise control.

Rexsburg for a day

Temples are a big deal in my church, and in my life. They’re (usually) beautiful and always of eternal significance, as marriages there have the potential to be forever and families can be united throughout the generations.  Utah and Idaho are full of them, and I saw several during my drive to wedding #1.
Technically, it was “sealing #1”, as Tom and Amanda were civilly married a year ago on this day shortly after Hurricane Sandy brushed by Virginia. They chose the temple in Amanda’s hometown of Rexburg, Idaho, and I chose to represent Tom’s family.

The directions were fairly simple: get on I-15 and head north to Idaho, eventually forking off on Highway 20 towards Rexsburg. The drive was long but I was grateful for clear skies and a high speed limit. En route I sampled local radio stations, including the Idaho Farm Bureau report –potatoes are doing well this year, in case you were wondering. I briefly stopped in Idaho Falls to see their temple, and continued on to Rexsburg, arriving just before the ceremony. 

Idaho Falls temple

The sealing was short and beautiful, and it was interesting to see the wheat motif throughout the temple. As we took pictures outside afterward, I was grateful that the weather was relatively “balmy” for that area in November.

friends with the happy couple

Rexsburg temple

The reception featured a mini reunion of DC friends who now live in Idaho, and included a tasty Idaho baked potato.

DC reunion

I broke up the drive back with several stops, including McCammon, ID where some friends are converting “the” building in town built nearly 100 years ago into a boutique hotel. So cool to see historic renovations that honor the best of the original design while bringing in modern taste, and to hear the stories they’ve uncovered while working on this. From their description of the plans, and the nearby Lava Hot Springs, I might need to make my way back here in the coming year.

My other pause was in Logan, UT to see their temple.

Logan temple

A lot of driving for a single day, but worth it.

Back to School

When I told friends and family I was coming to visit I didn’t expect an invitation to speak at my alma mater. But my first day there, I got to visit my old BYU cartography professor (who happens to be my second cousin) and talk to his cartography class about what it’s like working in the NGO sector and using my GIS degree. Despite leaving all my notes at home and not being able to give them much career advice (have dream job given to you), I think it went rather well. Bonus: they had just held their own geography bee and were able to share questions with me for ours at work. Walking around campus I was surprised at how small it seemed, how young they all were, and how much had changed. But I finished off my day there with a visit to the Creamery and a familiar treat in honor of Papa Koenig.

Other than the almonds, dad would be proud.

On the drive back to my cousin’s house I drove past the Provo Tabernacle turned temple. I loved having Christmas Concerts there as a student, but I know it will be beautiful and important in this future use.

Tabernacle turned temple

As bookends to my day I was able to visit two DC friends who've moved to Utah. I miss having them close by, but it's great to see them thriving here.

Trick and Treat

A visit to Utah was long overdue, so friends’ weddings provided a great opportunity. Flying on Halloween meant I missed seeing kids dress up, but I did see a few fellow travelers in the holiday spirit. The “trick” came when my connecting flight was delayed so much I thought I’d arrive after the car rental desk closed; the “treat” was when I made it in time and the nice guy gave me an upgrade. Given how much I’d drive on this trip, this was much-appreciated.